Book chapter
Herman Melville and the Antebellum Reading Public
A Companion to American Literature, pp.102-116
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
04/06/2020
DOI: 10.1002/9781119056157.ch38
Abstract
Herman Melville grappled with the antebellum reading public from his first novel Typee (1846) through his magazine fiction of the 1850s. Rather than renouncing the popular audience in the wake of the disastrous critical reception of his novels Mardi (1849), Moby‐Dick (1851), and Pierre (1852), Melville recalibrated his efforts toward winning the mass market he had bitterly opposed. His magazine fiction represents Melville's circumvention of the negative reviews that prevented him from reaching a broad readership through his novels. His magazine work adapted to the forms expected by readers, resulting in creative work that did not sacrifice the politically controversial import of his vision. This professional and aesthetic retooling occurred after roughly a decade of stubbornly defining himself exclusively as a book man and circulating minimally if at all in the periodical press.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Herman Melville and the Antebellum Reading Public
- Creators
- David O Dowling
- Contributors
- Susan Belasco (Editor)Theresa Strouth Gaul (Editor)Linck Johnson (Editor)Michael Soto (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- A Companion to American Literature, pp.102-116
- DOI
- 10.1002/9781119056157.ch38
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; Chichester, UK
- Number of pages
- 15
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/06/2020
- Academic Unit
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Record Identifier
- 9984309161502771
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